Orientador: Marcos Tadeu Nolasco da Silva / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T22:53:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ernesto_AlineSantarem_M.pdf: 2616267 bytes, checksum: 8169b5c577c4b73c8dedf740de1f15b9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Introdução: A Síndrome de Imunodeficiência Adquirida (Aids) é atualmente uma doença crônica, controlável graças à Terapia Antirretroviral de Alta Atividade (TARV). Em um contexto de acesso universal ao tratamento, a adesão do paciente torna-se um fator limitante e desafiador. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a prevalência da nãoadesão à TARV em uma coorte de crianças e adolescentes com o uso de instrumentos complementares, bem como identificar e compreender os fatores associados a ela. Casuística e Métodos: Estudo analítico, observacional, prospectivo do tipo corte transversal. A população foi composta por 108 pacientes infectados pelo Vírus da Imunodeficiência Humana (HIV) em TARV (60 meninos), com idades entre 8 e 19 anos. A adesão foi avaliada por meio de um questionário padronizado, consulta a registros de dispensação de farmácia (RDF) e uma escala de auto-eficácia. Foram entrevistados os responsáveis pela administração da medicação, cuidadores ou pacientes. Indivíduos que receberam menos de 95% das doses prescritas nas 24 horas ou nos 7 dias anteriores à entrevista, ou que apresentaram um intervalo maior que 37 dias no RDF nos três meses anteriores à entrevista, foram considerados não-aderentes. A escala de auto-eficácia forneceu um escore contínuo, com amplitude de 0 a 100. Foi avaliada a associação de variáveis independentes ligadas a condições demográficas, clínicas, imunológicas, virológicas, e psicossociais aos desfechos de adesão. Na análise estatística univariada foi utilizada a determinação de Odds Ratios (OR) para a comparação entre variáveis categóricas, o teste de Mann-Whitney para a comparação entre variáveis contínuas e categorias, e determinado Coeficiente de Correlação de Spearman (rs) para a comparação entre variáveis contínuas. Resultados foram considerados significativos com valor de p _ 0,05. Para o controle de variáveis de confundimento, foi utilizada a análise multivariada com o uso de regressão logística. O estudo foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa em Seres Humanos da Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Resultados: A prevalência de não-adesão variou entre 11,1% (pacientes não aderentes por 3 instrumentos), 15,8% (auto-relato de 24 horas), 27,8% (auto-relato semanal), 45,4% (RDF) e 56,3% (ao menos um dos 3 desfechos). Os auto-relatos de 24 horas e 7 dias, quando comparados ao RDF, mostraram baixa sensibilidade (29% e 43%, respectivamente) e alta especificidade (95% e 85%, respectivamente). As seguintes variáveis independentes apresentaram associação estatisticamente significativa com a não-adesão na análise univariada, de acordo com o instrumento: Auto-relato de 24 horas: dificuldade de administração pelo cuidador (OR = 9,11; IC95% = 2,87 - 28,98); paciente não-praticante de religião (OR = 2,76; IC95% = 0,92 - 8,32); intolerância à medicação (OR=4,61; IC95% =1,47 - 14,42); renda per capita (medianas de US$ 137,91 vs US$ 208,33; p = 0,016); número de ITRNs com mutações de resistência (medianas de 6 vs 1; p = 0,016); Auto-relato de 7 dias: dificuldade de administração pelo cuidador (OR = 2,91; IC95% = 1,05 - 8,12; administração da TARV pelo paciente (OR = 3,59; IC95% = 1,47 - 8,78); cuidador com 8 ou menos anos de escolaridade (OR = 3,25; IC95% = 1,03 - 10,30); paciente com mais de 8 anos de escolaridade (OR = 3,70; IC95% = 1,41 - 0,70); idade do paciente (medianas de 13,94 vs 12,94; p = 0,03); renda per capita (medianas de US$ 131,67 vs US$ 201,39; p = 0,009); Registro de dispensação de farmácia: dificuldade de administração pelo cuidador (OR = 3,19; IC95% = 1,11 - 9,17); administração da TARV pelo paciente (OR = 2,70; IC95% = 1,15 - 6,33); falha de controle virológico (OR = 3,70; IC95% = 1,67 - 8,33); falta a consulta nos últimos 6 meses (OR = 3,27 IC95% = 1,38 - 7,78); paciente nãopraticante de religião (OR = 2,47 IC95% = 1,10 - 5,57); cuidador não-praticante de religião (OR = 3,19; IC95% = 1,36 - 7,50); cuidador com emprego fora do domicílio (OR = 2,27; IC95% = 1,05 - 4,92); renda per capita (medianas de US$ 166,67 vs US$ 222,22; p = 0,014); As seguintes variáveis independentes apresentaram associação estatisticamente significativa com a não-adesão na análise multivariada, de acordo com o instrumento: Auto-relato de 24 horas: intolerância à medicação (OR = 9,11; IC95% = 2,87 - 28,98); Auto-relato de 7 dias: dificuldade de administração pelo cuidador (OR = 2,91; IC95% = 1,05 - 8,12); administração da TARV pelo paciente (OR = 3,59; IC95% = 1,47 - 8,78); classe socioeconômica C+D (3,54; 0,97 - 2,85); Registro de dispensação de farmácia: falha de controle virológico (OR = 3,73; IC95% = 1,68 - 8,31); falta a consulta nos últimos 6 meses (OR = 3,27 (IC95% = 1,38 - 7,78); cuidador não-praticante de religião (OR = 3,19; IC95% = 1,36 - 7,50); O escore de auto-eficácia teve mediana de 95,20 (11,90 - 100) e mostrou associação significativa com dificuldade de administração da medicação pelo cuidador (mediana de 78,5 vs 95,2; p = 0,001), falha de controle virológico (mediana de 90,4 vs 100; p = 0,001), administração da TARV pelo paciente (mediana de 89,8 vs 95,2; p = 0,05), falta à consulta nos últimos seis meses (mediana de 86,3 vs 100, p < 0,001), categoria clínica N, A ou B (mediana de 90,47 vs 100; p = 0,018), paciente não praticante de religião (mediana de 90,4 vs 95,2, p = 0,037), orfandade (mediana de 95,2 vs 90,4 p = 0,05), relação CD4/CD8 (rs = 0,220; p = 0,025), número de classes de antirretrovirais com resistência viral (rs = 0,583; p < 0,001), número de ITRNs com resistência viral (rs = 0,44; p = 0,009), renda per capita (rs = 0,302; p = 0,001), Escore PedsQL domínio emocional (rs = 0,265; p = 0,007). Conclusão: Na população estudada, observou-se alta prevalência de falha de adesão à TARV, com maior sensibilidade de detecção pela análise da retirada de medicamentos na farmácia. Adicionalmente, observou-se associação entre os escores de auto-eficácia e as categorias de adesão. Os instrumentos utilizados mostraram-se complementares na identificação de fatores de risco para a não-adesão. Com o objetivo de eliminar variáveis de confundimento, sete fatores foram identificados como associados a dificuldade de adesão: intolerância à medicação, dificuldade de administração da medicação pelo cuidador, responsabilidade de administração medicação pelo próprio paciente, classe socioeconômica mais baixa, ausência de controle virológico, cuidador não praticante de religião e faltas às consultas / Abstract: Background: The Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (Aids) is currently a chronic disease, manageable by Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). In a setting of universal access to treatment, patient adherence arises as a limiting and challenging issue. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of nonadherence to HAART in a cohort of children and adolescents, using complementary instruments, and also identify and understand associated factors. Patients and Methods: Observational, analytical, prospective, cross-sectional study. The study population comprised 108 Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) -infected patients on HAART (60 boys), from 8 to 19 years-old. Adherence was evaluated by a standardized questionnaire, pharmacy refill data (PRD) and a self-efficacy scale. Patients or caregivers were interviewed (whoever was in control of medicine administration). Patients who received less than 95% of prescribed doses in the 24 hours of 7 days before the interview, or who had a record of an interval of more than 37 days between refills, were considered nonadherent. The self-efficacy scale provided a continuous score, varying from 0 to 100. The association between adherence outcomes and independent variables related to demographical, clinical, immunological, virological and psychosocial conditions was estimated. Statistical analysis was performed with the use of Odds Ratios (OR) for comparison between categorical variables, Mann-Whitney test for comparison between continuous variables and categories, and Spearman Correlation Coefficient (rs) for comparison between continuous variables. Results were considered statistically significant if p _ 0.05. Confounding variables were controlled by multivariate analysis with logistic regression. The study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the State University of Campinas Faculty of Medical Sciences. Results: Nonadherence prevalence varied from 11.1% (nonadherent patients in 3 instruments), 15.8% (24-hour self-report), 27.8% (7-day self-report), 45.4% (PRD) and 56.3% (at least one of the outcomes). Self-reports from 24 hours and 7 days, when compared to PRD, showed low sensitivity (29% and 43%, respectively) and high specificity (95% and 85%, respectively). The following independent variables showed statistically significant association with nonadherence on univariate analysis, according to each instrument: Twenty-four hour self-report: difficulty of ministration by caregiver (OR = 9.11 ; 95%CI = 2.87 - 28.98); lack of religious practice by patient (OR = 2.76; 95%CI = 0.92 - 8.32); medication intolerance (OR=4.61; 95%CI =1.47 - 14.42); per capita income (median US$ 137.91 vs US$ 208.33; p = 0.016); number of nucleoside/nucleotide analogues (NRTIs) with resistant mutations (median 6 vs 1; p = 0.016); Seven-day self-report: difficulty of ministration by caregiver (OR = 2.91; 95%CI = 1.05 - 8.12; HAART ministration by the patient (OR = 3.59; 95%CI = 1.47 - 8.78); caregiver with 8 or less years of school attendance (OR = 3.25; 95%CI = 1.03 - 10.30); patient with 8 or more years of school attendance (OR = 3.70; 95%CI = 1.41 - 0.70); patient age (median 13.94 vs 12.94; p = 0.03); per capita income (median US$ 131.67 vs US$ 201.39; p = 0.009); Pharmacy refill data: difficulty of ministration by caregiver (OR = 3.19; 95%CI = 1.11 - 9.17); HAART ministration by the patient (OR = 2.70; 95%CI = 1.15 - 6.33); lack of virological control (OR = 3.70; 95%CI = 1.67 - 8.33); missed consultations in the former 6 months (OR = 3.27 (95%CI = 1.38 - 7.78); lack of religious practice by patient (OR = 2.47 (95%CI = 1.10 - 5.57); lack of religious practice by caregiver (OR = 3.19; 95%CI = 1.36 - 7.50); caregiver working outside the home (OR = 2.27; 95%CI = 1.05 - 4.92); per capita income (median US$ 166.67 vs US$ 222.22 ; p = 0.014); The following independent variables showed statistically significant association with nonadherence on multivariate analysis, according to each instrument: Twenty-four hour self-report: medication intolerance (OR = 9.11; 95%CI = 2.87 - 28.98); Seven-day self-report: difficulty of ministration by caregiver (OR = 2.91; 95%CI = 1.05 - 8.12); HAART ministration by the patient (OR = 3.59; 95%CI = 1.47 - 8.78); socioeconomical classes C+D (3.54; 0.97 - 2.85); Pharmacy refill data: lack of virological control (OR = 3.73; 95%CI = 1.68 - 8.31); missed consultations in the former 6 months (OR = 3.27 (95%CI = 1.38 - 7.78); lack of religious practice by caregiver (OR = 3.19; 95%CI = 1.36 - 7.50); The self-efficacy score had a median of 95.20 (11.90 - 100) and showed significant association with difficulty of ministration by caregiver (median 78.5 vs 95.2; p = 0.001), lack of virological control (median 90.4 vs 100; p = 0.001), HAART ministration by patient (median 89.8 vs 95.2; p = 0.05), missed consultations in the former 6 months (median 86.3 vs 100, p < 0.001), clinical categories N, A or B ( median 90.47 vs 100; p = 0.018), lack of religious practice by patient (median 90.4 vs 95.2, p = 0.037), being orphan (median 95.2 vs 90.4 p = 0.05), CD4/CD8 ratio (rs = 0.220; p = 0.025), number or antiretroviral classes with resistance (rs = 0.583; p < 0.001), number of NRTIs with resistance (rs = 0.44; p = 0.009), per capita income (rs = 0.302; p = 0.001), PedsQL score, emotional domain (rs = 0.265; p = 0.007). Conclusion A high prevalence of HAART nonadherence was observed in the study population, being pharmacy refill data the most sensitive measurement. Additionally, an association was observed between adherence outcomes and self-efficacy scores. The instruments employed showed complementarity in the recognization of nonadherence risk factors. Aiming to eliminate confounding variables, seven factors were identified as associated to lack of adherence: medication intolerance, difficulty of ministration by the caregiver, ministration of medicines by the patient, lower socioeconomic class, lack of virological control, lack of religious practice by the caregiver and missed consultations / Mestrado / Saude da Criança e do Adolescente / Mestre em Ciências

Orientadores: Marcos Tadeu Nolasco da Silva, Maria Marluce dos Santos Vilela / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T12:56:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ferreira_JosianeFrancisca_M.pdf: 1674494 bytes, checksum: 65421fb00fd3ba43536a3c494f244ecd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: INTRODUÇÃO: A adoção da Terapia Antirretroviral Combinada (TARC), proporcionou uma dramática melhora na sobrevida, na qualidade de vida e no controle clínico da infecção por HIV em pediatria. Em consequência do controle efetivo da replicação viral, observa-se reconstituição do sistema imune, que contribui para a redução da incidência dos quadros infecciosos. Neste contexto, a determinação da reconstituição imune em estudos observacionais pode fornecer marcadores para a avaliação da resposta à TARC. OBJETIVOS: Determinar a prevalência de recuperação imunológica associada à introdução da TARC em uma população pediátrica acompanhada em serviço de referência, bem como fatores associados à obtenção desta meta. MÉTODO: Estudo observacional, analítico, do tipo coorte histórico. Em 127 pacientes em TARC pelo período mínimo de 1 ano, avaliou-se a reconstituição imune, caracterizada por uma porcentagem de linfócitos T CD4+ 'maior ou igual' 25% ou valor absoluto considerado normal para a idade. RESULTADOS: Dos 127 pacientes avaliados, 117 (92,12%) obtiveram reconstituição ou preservação imune. Nos indivíduos com reconstituição ou preservação imune, a idade ao início da TARC foi significativamente inferior (p = 0,007), e os escores-z de peso e IMC foram significativamente superiores (p = 0,028 e 0,032, respectivamente). Em relação às categorias clínicas, observou-se uma proporção significativamente superior de indivíduos nas categorias N, A e B no grupo com reconstituição ou preservação imune (p = 0,05). As porcentagens de linfócitos T CD4+ e a relação CD4 / CD8, bem como a proporção de indivíduos nas categorias imunológicas 1 e 2, foram superiores no grupo com reconstituição ou preservação imune (p = 0,019, 0,018 e 0,005, respectivamente). CONCLUSÃO: Pudemos observar que, em crianças e adolescentes infectados por HIV em TARC, a reconstituição ou preservação imune estiveram associadas a uma idade mais jovem e à maior preservação imunológica e clínica ao início da terapia / Abstract: INTRODUCTION: The adoption of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) provided a dramatic improvement in survival, quality of life and clinical management of HIV infection in children. As a result the effective control of viral replication, it is observed immune reconstitution, which contributes to reducing the incidence of infectious. In this context, the determination of immune reconstitution in observational studies can provide markers for assessing response to HAART. Objective: To determine the prevalence of immune recovery or preservation associated with the introduction of HAART in a pediatric population followed in a reference service, as well as factors associated with the attainment of this goal. Methods: Observational study, analytic, historical cohort. In 127 patients on HAART for at least one year, we evaluated the immune reconstitution or preservation, characterized by a of CD4+ cell percentage 'more or equal' 25% or absolute values considered normal for their age. Results: Of the 127 patients evaluated, 117 (92.12%) had immune reconstitution or preservation. In individuals with immune reconstitution or preservation, the age at first HAART was significantly lower (p = 0.007), and weight and BMI z-scores for age were significantly higher (p = 0.028 and 0.032, respectively). With respect to clinical categories, there was a significantly higher proportion of individuals in N, A and B categories in the immune reconstitution or preservation group (p = 0.05). The CD4+ cell percentages and CD4/CD8 ratios and the proportion of individuals in immunological categories 1 and 2, were higher in the group with immune reconstitution or preservation (p = 0.019, 0.018 and 0.005, respectively). Conclusion: In our cohort of HIV-infected children and adolescents, on HAART, the preservation of immunocompetence or immune reconstitution were associated to an earlier age and better immune and clinical preservation at the beginning of therapy / Mestrado / Saude da Criança e do Adolescente / Mestra em Saúde da Criança e do Adolescente

Le contrôle des ondes électromagnétiques joue un rôle fondamental dans les technologies photoniques actuelles. De nos jours, on assiste à une demande croissante de composants agiles capable d'absorber efficacement les ondes électromagnétiques dans divers gamme de fréquences. Habituellement, ces absorbeurs s'appuient sur les résonances plasmoniques qui apparaissent dans les métaux nobles dans la gamme visible. Cependant, l'extension des propriétés plasmoniques aux spectres infrarouge et THz nécessite des matériaux adéquats ayant un comportement métallique à ces fréquences. Dans ce travail, nous étudions numériquement et expérimentalement les structures métal-isolant-métal (MIM) réalisées à partir de semi-conducteur hautement dopé Si: InAsSb qui a un comportement métallique dans la gamme infrarouge. Dans la deuxième partie, nous avons amélioré l'efficacité des résonateurs MIM en utilisant des métamatériaux hyperboliques qui miniaturisent les résonateurs. Dans la dernière partie, nous proposons un design universel ultra-mince qui permet de dépasser les contraintes associées au choix des matériaux et permettant la réalisation d'un absorbeur fonctionnant sur une gamme spectrale allant de l'infrarouge aux micro-onde. / The control of light absorbance plays a fundamental role in today's photonic technologies. And the urge to design and develop flexible structures that can absorb electromagnetic waves is very growing these days. Usually, these absorbers relies on plasmonic resonances that arise in noble metals in the visible range. However, the extension of the plasmonic properties to the infrared and THz spectra requires adequate materials that have a metallic behavior at these frequencies. In this work, we study numerically and experimentally the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structures realized from highly doped semiconductor Si:InAsSb that has a metallic behavior in the infrared range. In the second, part we improved the efficiency of the MIM resonators by using hyperbolic metamaterials that also miniaturize the resonators. In the last part, we propose an ultra-thin universal design that overcomes the material barrier so that the total absorption can be achieved for different spectral ranges without changing the material.

Driverless cars are a hot topic in today’s industry where several vehicle manufacturers try to create a reliable system for automated driving. The advantages of highly automated vehicles are many, safer roads and a lower environmental impact are some of the arguments for this technology. However, the notion of highly automated cars give rise to a large number of human factor issues regarding the safety and reliability of the automated system as well as concern about the driver’s role in the system. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of systematic variations in traffic complexity and external time pressure on decision-making time in a simulated situation using a web-based testing platform. A secondary focus was to examine whether measures of cognitive performance and driver attitudes have an effect on decision-making time.  The results show that systematic variations in both time pressure and traffic complexity have an effect on decision-making time. This indicates that drivers are able to adapt their decision-making to facilitate the requirements of a certain situation. The results also indicate that intelligence; speed of processing and driver attitudes has an effect on decision-making time.

Det övergripande syftet med denna avhandling är att undersöka förhållandet mellan migration, reflexivitet och social klass. I fokus för den empiriska analysen står högt kvalificerade estniska emigranter. Reflexivitet har hittills inte varit ett viktigt begrepp i migrationsstudier. Även om vissa studier använt ordet reflexivitet, har det i huvudsak fungerat som bakgrundsbegrepp. Det finns en påtaglig brist på empiriskt orienterade studier av reflexivitet i migrationsstudier. Avhandlingen består av fyra artiklar med något olika inriktning. Den första undersöker det empiriska fallet i sin helhet utifrån en survey-undersökning om estniska migranter. Den andra artikeln diskuterar den brittiske sociologen Margaret Archers sätt att analysera migration och argumenterar i hennes efterföljd för ett socialpsykologiskt synsätt på de skiftande motiven att migrera. Den tredje artikeln utmanar tanken på att migranters återvändande i huvudsak kan förstås som saknad efter sociala relationer och känslor av hemlängtan. I den fjärde artikeln föreslås ett sätt för livsstilsorienterade migrationsstudier att hantera frågan om reflexivitet. Här positioneras livsstilsmigranter teoretiskt till andra typer av migranter och hur variationer ilivsstilsmigration kan analyseras. Trots inbördes variation har samtliga artiklar en gemensam nämnare. / This thesis focuses on issues around reflexivity and highly skilled migration. Reflexivity has been an underused concept in migration studies and incurporating it has been long overdue. By reflexivity this thesis understands the capacity of an actor to evaluate his or her position in relation to social structures, to take action in managing those structures and, finally, to critically revise both the position and action taken. There are multiple reasons as to why incorporating reflexivity is a useful endeavor to migration studies. On one hand, using reflexive types in order to understand different migration motivations offers an alternative to otherwise mainly class based explanations behind migration objectives. Migration research has long relied on the idea that migration motivations can be coupled with societal and class background. Similarly, return migration has been described almost unanimously as a result of a homing desire. Both positions, as claimed in this thesis, are oversimplifications. On the other hand, I argue that, reflexivity helps to analyze the importance of class or even society on migration in 21th century. This is why I suggest to analyze all three in concurrence – migration, reflexivity and class. In the following pages I analyze how reflexivity can be operationalized for studying migration. So far, reflexivity has been either used as background concept – mobility studies or for explaining particular kind of migration – lifestyle migration. I argue, that with careful operationalization reflexivity could be useful tool for explaining wide-variety of migrations – family, labour, lifestyle etc. Three articles in this thesis focus on providing such operationalizations, analyzing the relationship between migration motivations and reflexivity. Finally, the first article in this thesis analyzes the background of my particular group of migrants – Estonian highly skilled migrants and positions them in relation to other groups in Estonian society. Moreover, the article also underlines that self-development and lifestyle, if you will, is an important motivation for Eastern European migrants as well.

Cette thèse présente des travaux portant sur l'instabilité modulationnelle (IM) dans des fibres optiques dotées à la fois d'une forte non linéarité et d'un fort coefficient d'absorption. Une analyse comparative des performances de plusieurs grandes classes de fibres (de verres silice et non silice) sur leur aptitude à générer des bandes latérales d'IM avec un minimum de puissance de pompe, et sur la plus courte distance possible, est effectuée. Les fibres de verres non silice de type Chalcogénure ou Tellure apparaissent à première vue comme étant les plus performantes, mais un examen attentif révèle que leurs spectres sont altérés par un phénomène de dérive en fréquence des bandes latérales d'IM, qui est provoquée par une forte absorption du laser de pompe. Nous développons alors une méthode qui permet de supprimer la dérive en fréquence des bandes latérales d'IM dans les fibres à fort coefficient d'absorption. Cette méthode, que nous avons baptisé "méthode du réservoir de photons", consiste à créer au sein de la fibre, par un ajustement approprié des paramètres de dispersion d'ordre deux et quatre, un réservoir de photons qui alimente in situ le processus d'IM en lui fournissant continuellement l'équivalent de la quantité de photons détruits par l'absorption matérielle au cours de la propagation. L'efficacité de la méthode du réservoir de photons est démontrée sur des processus d'IM aussi bien en configuration scalaire que vectorielle. Cette démonstration marque un progrès décisif vers des dispositifs de génération de fréquences optiques qui seront extrêmement précis et stables. / This thesis considers modulational instability (MI) in optical fibers that have both a strong non-linearity and strong absorption coefficient. We carry out a comparative analysis of the performance of several major classes of silica- and non-silica glass fibers, on their ability to generate MI sidebands with a minimum of pump power, and over the shortest distance possible. Chalcogenide glass fibers appear at first sight as being the most competitive, but a careful examination reveals that their spectra are altered by a phenomenon of frequency drift of the MI sidebands, caused by a strong depletion of the pump. We have then developed a method which allows to suppress frequency drifts in MI processes in fibers having strong absorption parameters. The fundamental idea of this method, that we called "the photon reservoir method", is to create in the fiber, by an appropriate adjustment of the second-order and fourthorder dispersion coefficients, a photon reservoir which supplies (in situ) the MI process by continually providing the equivalent of the amount of photons destroyed by absorption during the propagation. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of the method of photon reservoir on MI processes, in scalarand vector configurations, using glass fibers endowed with extremely high nonlinear parameters. This method constitutes a decisive step forward in the development of highly competitive devices for optical frequency generation.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Antiretroviral regimens have side effects that can threaten adherence by patients resulting in evolution of viral resistance due to suboptimal drug levels. Studies have shown that drug adherence of at least 80% can result in viral load suppression. There is no literature on the association between the level of adherence to antiretroviral therapy and the degree of virological suppression in Namibia. The aim of the present study was to determine the therapeutic and virological outcomes in HIV/AIDS patients at 6 and 12 months after initiation of highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in an urban population in Namibia. The distribution of viral load results showed a low uptake (35%) of virological monitoring at 6 month time point and even lower (12%) at 12 months. A conservative viral load threshold for virological response is required in the Namibian setting. The current adherence level of &gt;80% encourage increased ARV therapy rollout. Poor virological outcome was associated with self-reported adherence. / South Africa

Magister Public Health - MPH / Avian Influenza (AI) is a contagious viral zoonotic disease with great public health implications and negative socioeconomic impact (WHO, 2006a). The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infection is transmitted from birds to man mostly through contact with contaminated poultry and objects (INFOSAN, 2005), hence people who come in contact with birds such as live bird sellers (LBS) are the more vulnerable population (WHO, 2006a). Inadequate knowledge of AI health risks and poor practice of AI preventive measures amongst LBS increases the risk of spread of the infection in both humans and animals.The aim of this study was to describe and quantify the knowledge and practice of LBS with regards to avian influenza health risks and preventive activities in Agege, an urban area in Lagos State, Nigeria. / South Africa

Magister Public Health - MPH / Antiretroviral therapy (ART) improves the quality of lives of people living with HIV/AIDS by suppressing HIV replication and improving the patient’s immunity. An improved immunity will help prevent patients from contracting opportunistic infections. Adherence to ART is vital to obtain good clinical outcome for patients. Defaulting ART leads to increase in viral load, decreased host immunity, development of HIV drug resistant strains, exposure to opportunistic infections and ultimately death. HIV positive patients who are on ART face many challenges in adhering to their medications, these challenges act as barriers to their adherence to treatment. This study explores the barriers that adult patients in a hospital in Eastern Cape of South Africa face while on treatment. These barriers include individual factors, socio-economic factors, health service factors, medical regimen factors.

South Africa, with an estimated 5.7 million people living with HIV, continues to have one of the largest epidemics in the world. The introduction of HAART resulted in prolonged and improved quality of life of many infected patients. However, adverse effects caused by these drugs have become a major concern as they affect the adherence of patients and in some cases even result in the death of patients. Although much research has been and is still being conducted in the area of understanding, preventing and management of ARV adverse effects, there is still a need for patients to be actively involved in self-monitoring for adverse effects. This will assist health care professionals in early identification of serious or potentially serious ARV effects. This study aimed at evaluating the usefulness of strategies developed and employed in the identification, recording and monitoring of adverse effects. The study was conducted with patients receiving HAART from a private HIV and AIDS clinic in Uitenhage, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The research project was approved by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Research and Ethics Committee and the research site. This was an experimental, randomized controlled study carried out over a period of three months (August to October 2009), with a sample size of 160 patients divided into four study groups of 40 patients each. Two monitoring strategies, namely an ARV adverse effect monitoring tool and a patient self-monitoring diary were developed and used for the identification and recording of adverse effects. The four study groups included a Control group, a Tool group, a Diary group and a Tool-Diary group. Willing patients, after signing an informed consent form, were randomly assigned to one of the four groups by participating health care workers at the study site. Data was retrieved from the patient files by the researcher. Descriptive statistical analysis of the findings of the study was conducted using SPSS®. One hundred and forty nine patients were included in the final data analysis. Of the 80 diaries handed out to patients, only 33 were returned and due to errors only 31 were suitable for analysis. Monitoring tools were completed and analysed for 36 patients. The tool was found to be more effective in identifying adverse effects of a physical nature (such as peripheral neuropathy and lipodystrophy) than the usual methods of monitoring employed by the clinic, whilst the diary, used alone, was found to be less effective. Use of the tool and diary combined resulted in the most significant identification and recording of central nervous system related adverse effects and physical adverse effects. However due to the low return rate of the diaries and the majority of the monitoring tool not being completed in many instances the results of this study may not be generalisable. The study results did however suggest that combining the tool and the diary methods of adverse effect identification, yielded the most favourable results when compared to each method alone. This may be attributed to the fact that the tool is useful in identifying objective symptoms and the diaries subjective symptoms, particularly in instances where the patients forget to report their symptoms to healthcare professional whilst at the clinic. The diaries were also reported to improve adherence for more than 90 percentage (n=31) of the patients. More research would be needed in order to verify the exact significance of the tool and the diary in identifying and recording adverse effects and symptoms of adverse effects.